Israeli Military Investigating Palestinian’s Death in Jericho Confrontation

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IDF soldiers in the West Bank. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

A Palestinian man died after a confrontation with Israeli troops in the West Bank on Thursday.

The Israeli military said the man had attempted to attack troops and that it had opened an investigation. The Palestinian Authority condemned the incident as a “cold-blooded execution.”

In security camera footage posted on social media and carried by Israeli news sites, soldiers could be seen kicking and striking a man, identified by Palestinian officials as Yassin Omar Serda, after detaining him in the city of Jericho.

In a statement, the military said the man was armed with an iron rod and ran toward the soldiers in an attempt to strike them. The troops, it said, were taking part in an operation to arrest “suspects” in Jericho.

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“In response to the immediate threat, the troops fired toward the assailant and confronted him from close range and were able to stop him,” the military said. “A knife was also found in his possession. Troops evacuated him to a hospital to receive medical treatment. His death was later announced. The incident is being reviewed.”

The Palestinian Information Ministry claimed about 20 soldiers had administered a “heavy beating” to Serda, especially on his stomach and back.